The Radiant Young Lady of the Dark Family - Chapter 33
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“Even without Berl, you probably wouldn’t have taken lessons from me, but still, him of all people.”
“What does it matter? We’re inside the academy.”
Inside the academy, social status held no value. Only ability proved one’s worth. Nevertheless, the heavier the weight of one’s status, like Radant or Cellie, the harder it was to hide that halo, and though people pretended otherwise, everyone found them intimidating.
Even among professors who found Bertolph difficult to approach, Dayan was the only one in the academy who treated him this way.
But Berl himself seemed unbothered as he crossed his arms and asked thoughtfully.
“Come to think of it, you’re staying in Radanun Central Town, right, Hasa?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Where do you usually have dinner?”
“We eat at the tavern on the first floor of our inn.”
At her answer, Berl smiled as if pleased.
“Then would you invite me to dinner tonight?”
“What?”
Hasa’s eyes widened like someone who had heard something completely unexpected. To which Berl responded with his characteristic sultry smile.
“Because I’m reluctant to part with Hasa.”
Ugh, Hasa’s face burned as if about to burst. She was about to scold him for saying such things in front of her brother, but he smoothly continued.
“And I’d like to hear more about ancient languages.”
“….”
No, making people misunderstand like that. As Hasa was fanning her face, Dayan spoke up before she could answer.
“I don’t want to.”
At this firm rejection, Hasa turned to her brother in surprise, and Dayan’s eyes narrowed.
“Why should I have to see that greasy face outside too? I’ll lose my appetite.”
Hasa couldn’t understand why Dayan had disliked Berl so much from before. She scolded him, saying he shouldn’t speak that way to someone’s face.
Still, Dayan turned his head with a “hmph,” showing no intention of apologizing.
Hasa turned to Berl awkwardly. He stood there quietly looking at her like a rain-soaked puppy. Though she thought he would back down, he showed no sign of doing so.
Caught between the two, Hasa let out a troubled “umm” before speaking to Dayan.
“Um, Dayan. I owe Berl a lot for his help… Could we make an exception just for today?”
At Hasa’s request, Dayan’s brow furrowed, but soon he agreed, saying just this once.
***
The reason for asking Dayan’s permission to dine with Berl was exactly as she had told him.
Without him, she wouldn’t have been able to complete her studies for the fall entrance exam. She thought it would be nice to express her gratitude, even in this small way.
Though Dayan was highly wary of Berl, she thought nothing would go wrong with just one meal. But Hasa regretted this company as soon as they arrived at the first-floor tavern.
“Here in Radanun, we typically eat dried seafood with potato chips. It’s probably because of the humid and hot weather, but it must be quite different in Chelsea territory, right?”
Despite his status as the Grand Duke’s son, Berl ate the inn’s food without hesitation. He seemed quite familiar with commoners’ food.
“In Chelsea, we don’t eat seafood as a staple, and even when we have seafood dishes, they’re usually served warm. But Berl, you seem very comfortable with it.”
Though both Hasa and Dayan had quite noticeable appearances, Radanun frequently received foreigners and visitors, so people’s interest quickly faded after a glance or two.
But Berl was different. As the territory’s heir and beloved Grand Duke’s son, he was bound to stand out. Perhaps because of this, Berl had wrapped himself in a shabby robe as soon as he left the carriage.
And despite his uncomfortable-looking attire, he continued eating well. When Hasa expressed admiration for this, Berl smiled.
“I used to sneak out often and eat street food. Though now I don’t have time for that with academy classes and family matters to handle.”
A Grand Duke’s son sneaking out. Somehow, despite his proper appearance, it seemed Berl must have caused quite a bit of trouble for those around him during his adolescence. Berl whispered to Hasa with a somewhat innocent smile.
“It feels so nice to spend time like this after so long. Hasa, thank you for allowing me to join you.”
Somehow, Hasa felt that being with Berl kept making her heart troubled.
She had intended to appear more favorable to him in hopes of receiving help during the future storms of the original story, but instead, she felt herself being swept away by him.
As Hasa struggled to respond, Dayan, who had been watching the scene with his chin propped up, let out a small snort.
“Ha, ridiculous.”
As soon as they arrived at the inn, she told Dayan he could go up first if he was uncomfortable, but instead, he jumped up and shouted that why should he leave, declaring he would stay until the end.
After that, Dayan’s face was plastered with obvious signs of irritation.
“What’s wrong, Dayan?”
Though she asked in bewilderment, Dayan showed no intention of stopping as he crossed his arms and shrugged.
“It’s obvious, acting like a saint in front of my sister. People like that are actually worse. Isn’t that right, senior?”
Berl, seemingly unaffected, answered with his usual smooth expression.
“It seems I’ve earned Dayan’s dislike. I thought I was living quite properly, I wonder why?”
“Who asked you to be proper with m-”
“Ah, perhaps it’s because you couldn’t score even one point against me in last year’s match?”
“That’s not it!”
Dayan shouted, his face turning red. Berl smiled as if to say ‘If you say so.’
Looking at it this way, Dayan was no match for Berl. As Hasa considered hastily wrapping up the meal before Dayan got more excited, he pursed his lips with furrowed brows and spoke.
“In a way, isn’t your current busy schedule something you intended? Sister might not know, but it’s famous. The reason for the Grand Duke’s death.”
“Dayan.”
Hasa called out anxiously to stop her brother, but Dayan, seemingly desperate to scratch Berl’s mask-like smooth face, continued speaking.
“The Radant Grand Duchy inherited the blessing of fire, but the Grand Duke died with his body on fire. Given that the servants couldn’t extinguish it no matter what they tried, it must not have been ordinary fire.”
At that moment, ash-colored flecks mixed into Berl’s eyes.
“Then who could have possibly set the Grand Duke’s body on fire?”
Dayan stared at Berl as if challenging him to answer that. Berl looked down at Dayan with eyes now devoid of their previous smile, when suddenly a server passing their table asked in surprise.
“Oh? Aren’t you the Young Grand Duke? What brings you to such a humble place?”
“What? The Young Grand Duke?”
“They say the Radant Young Grand Duke is here.”
The surrounding area instantly burst into commotion. Then, as if appearing from nowhere, a shadow-like man appeared and stood guard around Berl.
“The surroundings are getting noisy. We should leave now.”
At the man’s words, Berl gave a faint smile and said to Hasa.
“I’m sorry, it seems I must leave first. See you next time.”
With those final words, Berl waved to the gathering crowd and left his seat. Dayan snorted at Berl’s retreating figure, saying he was running away because of the difficult question.
At that moment, someone struck the back of Dayan’s head with their fist.
“Ow!”
Dayan looked up in surprise to find it was none other than Hasa with her fist clenched. As Dayan’s eyes widened in shock, Hasa struck his head again with her clenched fist.
“Ow! Why are you hitting me!”
Facing Dayan who looked up at her indignantly, Hasa spoke very firmly.
“Dayan, because you stabbed someone with your words.”
“Th-that’s!”
Dayan bit his tongue in momentary confusion. He knew his sister had changed, but the Hasa before him now wore a completely unfamiliar expression.
Her cold eyes, devoid of any trace of their usual bright smile, precisely pointed out Dayan’s mistake.
“I’ll ask you just once. Did the Young Grand Duke kill the Grand Duke?”
“…!”
Dayan, seemingly caught off guard by such a direct question, fumbled with his lips before shaking his head.
“I don’t know, it’s just a rumor.”
“So you tormented someone over something you’re not even sure about.”
“Ugh.”
Hasa lowered her clenched fist and straightened her back as she continued speaking.
